I've used the injectable metacam for Chippy. No GI problems. Now, however, my vet is Rx'ing metacam in suspension (the liquid element to which they add the tablet-form of the drug). Not sure what Mobic is.

Even with stones, the massage will help keep the stones/sludge from abrading the bladder wall. If you have the equipment, it's certainly worth a try.

I'm worried about Meg. She's been on metacam for what the vet thinks is arthritis in her back. There's some stiffness in her walk and she flinches when I touch her hip/lower back area. Now she has started biting at her feet and I know this could mean that her feet are numb -- I wonder if she has a slipped disk.

I give her little massages and just started putting a heating pad across her lower back. I increased her metacam to 2 x daily. And tonight I will start giving her glucosamine chondroitin in her meds.

Anything else I can do? I don't want her to tear her feet apart. So far she has done nothing but barber the hair to where she looks moth-eaten but I keep finding her nibbling at her back legs.

Ok I scheduled an x ray and will try Rimadyl, which I already have. Still looking into an animal phys.

I'm wondering about nutritional deficiencies. She wasn't responding well to the special diet (low Ca:Ph and low Oxalate because she produces both Ca Carbonate and Oxalate stones) -- she started having hair loss so I added 25 mg of C daily and that brought back the hair.

But could she now have a calcium deficiency because of the diet? Should I try supplementing with Ca Lactate? And what would be the dosage on that?

*edit: I found the dosage on the meds page. So I guess my question is, would Ca Lactate contribute to the formation of Carbonate or Oxalate stones? My dilemma here is that she may continue to develop these stones no matter what (she has had 3 stone surgeries) because she has one malfunctioning kidney. The stones the vet can remove. But debilitating arthritis from bone loss isn't something that we can correct with surgery.

From what I've read, it isn't really the amount of calcium. It's whether or not the calcium is being absorbed properly. If not, it can become "fodder" for stones.

Oxalates prevent the absorption of calcium. In my HO, I'd tackle that part first and not worry about how much calcium she's getting.

Next, I'd look at the Ca:Ph ratio, since too much phospherous also can prevent absorption. Magnesium plays a role, too, but I'll need a whole lot more time before I can add that to the mix.

The polycitra should help with the binding action of the calcium, so I'd continue that. Also, hydrate. With just one functioning kidney, that's going to be essential. I know she doesn't like subq's, so at the very least, make sure her veggies are totally soaked in water.

I really don't know about the supplements and their effect on stone formation. It's always better for them to get their calcium in food (same with humans, btw). Again, it's mostly a matter of how efficiently she'll absorb the calcium.

And, yes, it's entirely possible she'll continue to develop stones. One kidney makes all of this very difficult for your Meg.

It's that time again, I think. I see the characteristic brown staining on Meg's rump, so she is going to have an x ray next Tuesday. Chances are there are stones in her bladder -- there always are, every time we x ray. So now I have to decide if putting her through another surgery is fair to her.

She has had 3 surgeries to remove stones. During the second surgery she was spayed. During the 3rd surgery she was re-spayed, and had several stones and a malignant growth removed from the interior of the bladder. She has something wrong with her kidney, so she produces stones regularly.

Right now she is on Metacam and polycitra. She has become quite chubby in the last few months and looks healthy. Her arthritis bothers her a bit -- she moves slowly and gingerly but doesn't limp or anything, just walks like an old person. Other than that she doesn't show any signs of feeling unwell. She is not squeaking while peeing or pooping but I want to catch the stones this time before they chew up the inside of her bladder again.

She is in better shape than she was for the last surgery but I don't want to make her daily pain more or endanger her life. So how many surgeries is too many, and how old is too old for another surgery? Does anyone have pigs who have had more than 3 major surgeries?

X rays did not find any stones, a remarkable outcome considering the frequency with which she was producing stones previously. The vet thinks that the tumor (removed during the 3rd surgery) may have been creating a "snowball effect" with the malfunctioning kidney. Its removal has probably slowed the frequency of stone formation.

Something is wrong with Meg. I have been watching her for a few days, thinking that something was "off." I catch her breathing short and quick breaths (panting?) then listen with the stethoscope but her lungs always sound clear. I weigh her every day and she is still the same -- 1100 grams. She is pooping and peeing and does not seem to have pain with either. Her lungs sound good (no rattling or gurgling), her mucous membranes are pink and she is hydrated.

But I have noticed that she seems to be slumping slightly to one side when she lays down. Sort of leaning. Then, about an hour ago, I saw her biting one of the towels in the cage. I know her -- this means that she is in pain. So I just took her out and did some investigating.

Her abdomen seemed a bit tight, so I gave her some simethicone, charcocap, then set her on a heating pad and massaged her. Her abdomen is not painful. Since she just wolfed down a huge plate of veggies, she might just be full. But gas could be the cause of pain.

Or maybe her eye is hurting her. Her eyes have always had white around the iris, and the vet and I associated that with age. But her left eye now has a lot of white around the eye, and I can see a dim red ring around the white of the eye. The vet said that he didn't know what it was. But I just noticed now that her left eye seems to be protruding a bit more. I did some searching on the internet, and it *might* look like glaucoma. The eye could be hurting her. I put some bnp opthalmic drops in the eye.

My third theory for pain is that she has an inner ear infection. That would explain the leaning. And she seemed to be tottering a bit in the cage. However, she has arthritis in her hips, so she has been unsteady on her feet for a while. But since I suspected an inner ear infection, I gave her some Meclizine and .5 of Doxy.

I can go in the a.m. to the vet and wait as a walk-in (the vet is booked). I just don't know what else to do. I am worried about doing too much, doing too little. What if I make the wrong move and lose another precious pig? I am so worried.

I think it's the eye. It looks like it might be bulging a bit more today. Tomorrow morning I am going to try to find a veterinary eye specialist asap. We had one before but he passed away and they closed his clinic.

She liked it when I was gently massaging her head between the eyes. I think she is probably going to lose the eye.

I have been putting bnp + dex eye drops in that eye. If there is a reason why I shouldn't be doing this, please let me know. She does get Meloxicam twice daily, I don't know if that matters.

Ok no other eye vets around here -- it seems they have cornered the market.

For those who have had one-eyed guinea pigs-- How do they fare with eye removal? One of our volunteers had her pig's eye removed and it was a difficult recovery from what I remember. My vet did the surgery.

Meg is probably over 5 years old. Her health is good, I guess. She has recently become pretty fat so I took her pellets away. She has also already had 3 surgeries.

Teresa had a Monterey pig's eye removed. Betty had been adopted and returned with a very strange eye injury. Her eye was an opaque pink color. It finally started causing her pain, so she was spayed (she had cysts also) and her eye removed at the same time. She recovered really well and was adopted out a short time later.

I also had Fuzzy's eye removed after it was bitten during a fight with another guinea pig. She came through the surgery really well, and it was a huge relief to her to have that eye gone, as it had abcessed and was very painful, I'm sure.